


Wilting Lotus

by derireo



Series: let's go fuckin' loco! [1]
Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Death, Explicit Language, F/M, Flirting, Gang Violence, Gun Violence, Implied Sexual Content, Mafia AU, Reverse Harem, Swearing, also itaru & juza are aged up, by like. a year, i may add tags as i go, omi is aged up to 24!, sakyo aged down
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:53:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23874250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/derireo/pseuds/derireo
Summary: Izumi thought she had left everything in the past, moving onto a new life with a new family. But due to an unforeseen run-in with someone, she's stuck with the fact that they know she's still alive.And unfortunately she's not the only one they're after.
Relationships: Chigasaki Itaru & Tachibana Izumi, Furuichi Sakyou & Tachibana Izumi, Fushimi Omi & Tachibana Izumi, Hyoudou Juza & Tachibana Izumi, Takatoo Tasuku & Tachibana Izumi
Series: let's go fuckin' loco! [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1720594
Comments: 14
Kudos: 71





	1. Flashback I: The Secret the Stars Keep

Rivulets of blood poured out of Izumi’s mouth while she held a hand to her quivering stomach. Her forehead was pressed against the cold concrete wall in front of her, throat beginning to close up with a stinging sensation as her eyes began to well up much to her chagrin.

She grimaced in humiliation, it became clear to her that trusting those two was a mistake.

A long forgotten face flashed in her head, and her grimace curled into an annoyed smile as that person's voice of worry replayed over and over. A warning that there was something evil within those two; and that it wasn't worth investing so much love and time in them.

She scoffed, strings of blood splattering onto the wall when she laughed.

She really wished she had listened all those years ago.

At this point Izumi's mouth had flooded with bile when her stomach began to twist again, leaving her with the urge to leave her mouth open and let everything out. When she spat, her saliva was a mixture of phlegm and clotted blood, and the sight made her nauseous.

Her heart started to rattle uncontrollably while she tried to grasp onto her waning consciousness by scraping her dirtied fingertips against the concrete wall she was resting on. Her vision was spotted and her head started to feel fuzzy, but she tried to force herself awake by slamming her fist into the rough surface in front of her.

She needed, wanted, to call for help, but only a strangled sob was able to come out of her shivering body.

Her phone was stolen a while back and her wallet was taken away as well, so coming across a public phone with change on hand was nearly impossible at this point.

It's not like she could walk far enough to reach one anyways.

The clock was ticking as static took up the remaining space in her head beside the worry and want of dying right then and there. She wished for someone to find her slumped against the wall and call for help, or personally bring her to the hospital, but it seemed that tonight, no one was planning on it.

The city lights illuminated either side of the alleyway Izumi was in, but only the sound of vehicles with oblivious drivers passed by.

Her hope was dwindling down to that of a small bud and she grimaced, a small cry tumbling from her lips as she found herself falling onto her back on the grimy concrete.

“ _Ah_ …” She moaned helplessly, the grimace that she donned a few minutes prior now coming back to show the starry night sky how much pain she was in.

Hot tears started to blur her vision, the lights becoming hazy while her body twitched in intervals from the gruelling pain of having been beaten up half an hour ago.

She was here to forget about the past with her friends, and look where she ended up.

Yunliong is seen as the place where you can forget all of your worries and have fun with your friends and or lover, but Izumi didn’t expect to get tricked like this by the people she trusted with her whole life. 

And as her breath began to shorten, the girl’s lips started to tremble in fear and despair as she realised that every breath could be her last. Wild thoughts were going through her head, and she started to blabber out all of her apologies and regrets into the cold misty air, her voice thinning out at the end due to exhaustion.

As she was rambling to herself, a man had slipped out from the emergency exit with one other, coincidentally walking into the same alleyway where Izumi was starting to babble incoherently through her tears. He paused mid-step, his indifferent gaze stuck on the bloodied, dishevelled girl laying about ten feet away.

The man tucked his bottom lip into his mouth, seemingly in thought. The shadows in the alleyway darkened his expression, and the man beside him averted his gaze to the twitching figure on the floor.

The club’s music was deafening from both the inside and outside, but as the man’s mouth opened, it was like everything went quiet to hear him speak.

His gaze was sharp as he looked at the man, “Call a taxi, Chigasaki.” He said, voice low with a natural taste of seduction laced into his dialect. He then reached into his own pocket to grab his phone, texting a number as the person he spoke to leaned back on the wall, not too far from the blood splattered on the concrete.

“Letting our ER know we've got someone.”

And as the man, Chigasaki, carried on with his task, the haughty persona strode towards the body that lay pathetic on the ground.

His lips curled into a disapproving frown when he saw her face, dirtied with dirt and blood.

It seemed like she was mugged, with a lack of a purse on her, but her earlobes were bloody too, looking like someone ripped her earrings off. A violent mugging, but a usual occurrence nonetheless.

It was normal for Yunliong, Heaven on Earth, to have incidents like this, but for some reason, this particular situation didn’t sit right with him. It was leaving an unsettling feeling in this man's stomach.

The sound of joints cracking was music to his ears when he crouched down to closer examine the woman, and out of the blue, picked up a piece of her hair between his fingers and ran his thumb along the albeit tangled, silky strands.

Underground organisations tend to hide their victims from the public, always disposing of bodies in private to not catch the attention of the police and unknowing residents, so the man concluded that this action was done with pure malicious intent.

No professional extortion or torture was present in the hints he was silently finding among the body of this girl and it ticked him off. All crimes happening in Yunliong were exclusively caused by organised crime groups so having an incident like this one where no bigger groups were involved concerned him.

What did this pathetic woman do to get herself into this situation?

The silence was comfortable for everyone, save for Izumi, who was still barely conscious on the ground as the two people surrounded her while waiting for the taxi to arrive.

The girl's hearing was fuzzy, but she was still able to make out the words the man harshly uttered next and she thanked the Higher Deity for giving her someone who seemed to care just a little for her well being.

"If that taxi isn't here in 3 minutes I'm going to make you carry this woman all the way back to the office."

Izumi's head was tilted to the side by the man so that she wouldn't choke on her saliva, and her cheek was cushioned by his palm. The fat tears that were resting in her eyes fell down then, and rolled onto the stranger's palm, startling the person out of his temper due to the cold sensation.

His fingers lightly tickled her jaw when he removed his hand from her face, and Izumi felt a warm cloth envelop her immobile body.

And in an odd way, it made her heart tremble.

Another wave of fresh tears pooled out of her eyes when she couldn't contain her emotions, and her body shook violently and painfully as she sputtered incoherently, her sob drowned out by the club music that suddenly filled her ears again.

Chigasaki shifted uncomfortably as he watched on. He was used to seeing terrible men and women alike abused to the brink of tears or insanity by his hands, but witnessing this scene of an innocent, vulnerable little girl crying into the palm of his superior caused his heart to to itch with an unknown emotion.

He murmured into the phone, voice dark, requesting that the driver hurry up.

The city lights were flickering while the girl's sobs slowly turned into little sniffles, her eyes swollen from shedding so many tears.

The silence that fell among all three of them was broken abruptly by Chigasaki, "Big Bro, taxi's here."

The man's eyes changed from concern to indifference when he looked up from Izumi to the man still standing. His mouth curved downwards into a frown while he checked his watch, clicking his tongue. He didn't say another word as he lifted the girl up and cradled her limp form to his chest, ignoring the way her blood stained his shirt.

His subordinate lazily opened the back door for the man, slightly annoyed that their fun night out was ruined because of some idiot doing things they shouldn't be doing. He shook his head to himself as his Boss slid into the car with the young woman and shut the door, walking around to enter the other side of the back.

Both men sighed as they settled, letting their feet finally rest as the woman coughed out a few droplets of blood onto the coat he had lent her the warmth of before her head went and fell back against his shoulder.

He grimaced, but calmly gave the taxi driver an address that was a few blocks away from their office building while Chigasaki fiddled around with his phone, seemingly texting a few people to let them know what was happening as the car began to move.

"I don't know what you're thinking, Sakyo," he sighed quietly, dropping his phone in his lap, "But this doesn't look like something we can solve in a single day."


	2. Flashback II: Kind Fingers to a Threatening Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She wakes up to a man sitting by her hospital bed, and he's looking for answers.
> 
> He has a little fun as he coaxes them out of her.

An irritating itch going up and down her arm woke Izumi up from her deep slumber, causing a soft grumble to leave her split lips and have her wincing in pain. Her weak fingers clenched as the itch persisted and moved to scratch it away, only to have herself groan when she nearly ripped off a needle that was sticking out of her skin.

She grimaced in annoyance at the hindrance and left it alone, her eyes staring up at the creamy white ceiling above her, eyes still heavy from just waking up.

The pale yellow walls created a comforting atmosphere that had Izumi gazing into space and her mouth fell slightly ajar while her eyelashes fluttered sleepily. She felt like she was going to go back to sleep soon.

But her small trance was broken when someone in the room cleared their throat, causing her to swiftly turn her head towards the sound in surprise; not expecting that there would be a visitor waiting for her to wake up. She didn't know anyone else in Yunliong other than _those two_ so it didn't make any sense for someone to be here.

An unfamiliar man sat by her bed. 

His posture was casual and lazy while he sat back with his legs spread apart, arms crossed low on his chest with an alluring gaze filled along with mirth as he stared back at her.

The stranger's hair was unkempt and his clothes were a bit dishevelled when Izumi took a glance, but she looked back at the ceiling so that she wouldn't be more mistaken for staring.

The man chuckled at this, the corner of his mouth lifting up into a sly smile. "You can look more if you want, I won't stop you."

The guard (who Izumi just noticed) by the door cringed, while the second one kept watching the scene in front of him with a hint of laughter behind his gaze. 

There was a certain lilt to this man's voice when he goaded Izumi with a teasing hum, but the girl refused to look at him out of childish spite, puffing her cheek out.

For some reason unknown, this strange man was talking to her as if they were acquaintances or even _friendly strangers_ , and she knew that this man was not here to keep her company. She was sure he knew she picked up on it, too.

He hummed again, but more in thought rather than to poke a nerve of hers, and tapped his phone against his thigh a few times, slowly going in tandem with the iv drip that was connected to her arm.

"You're just as stubborn as you were last night." He mused softly and placed his phone back in his pocket. "You just didn't want to die, no matter the odds against you."

The playful tone in the man's voice left Izumi unsettled in her hospital bed, leaving her to seek help from the two guards that stood by the door, and to no avail. They silently ignored her pressing gaze on them until she gave up, and turned her head towards the strange man once more.

"Was I going to die?" She asked, voice quiet. As much as she wanted to show a little more attitude to this man who seemed to stare deep into her soul, she felt it was a bad idea, and finished her thought. "Because it certainly felt like it."

A brief smile made its way onto the stranger's face as he kept his eyes on the sitting girl in front of him, his cheek in his palm. He slouched in his seat while keeping quiet to let the girl wonder what the answer was for a few more seconds, and hid his amusement by covering half his face with his hand.

Her eyes flashed with worry and she put her hand on her chest to soothe the erratic beating of her heart that thumped against her rib cage, face adorably distressed when he chose not to say anything else.

His own eyes were half lidded with mirth, and he waited one more second before opening his mouth: "Probably. You were certainly _supposed_ to die, but I guess the dumb asses who jumped you didn't hurt ya enough." He curiously mocked.

"You were drugged and got stabbed pretty bad in some places. They hid the pretty cuts well, considering I didn't see any when I checked before. I thought you were bleeding internally with how much blood you were coughing up."

Izumi shifted uneasily beneath the sheets that lay atop her and looked away from the blond with a frown etched on her face. She couldn't really feel where she got stabbed since she wasn't feeling sore, but it's possible they put her on some painkillers. 

Probably.

She picked at the fabric that rested beneath her fingers, getting a little tired of the topic to this one-sided conversation.

The lights in the room were dim, making Izumi feel dreary as she returned her gaze to the man that still sat comfortably in his seat; looking like he was about to fall asleep with how little she could see of his irises.

"So what's your name?" She asked. The lighting softened the glow of her eyes, and the gentle look on her face made an unfamiliar feeling creep into the man's chest, causing him to sit up in his seat with a very visible frown tugging at his lips.

The soft features of his face hardened along with the cut of his jaw, and the change of expression left the girl worrying over what was so wrong with such an innocent question.

"Not important." He said curtly and dragged a rough hand through his already messy hair, a sigh escaping his teeth bitten lips as his eyes squinted at the small figure that continued to sit in front of him. "I still have a very important question to ask you, Darling."

His figure closing in on her had Izumi cowering into her bed with how dark his eyes had glazed over, and the gentle brush of his fingertips trailing down her jawline made her breath stutter.

His lazy smile came back, and the unhinged sanity behind this glassy gaze caused a nauseous feeling of butterflies to erupt in her stomach.

"Do you have any names of those who could have done this to you?" He questioned her with a kind, low voice and delicately brushed his thumb along the swell of her cheek to ease the tension in her body, his gaze nothing short of deceitful as he tipped her chin to make the girl look at him properly.

(Only a little) Annoyed at this point, Izumi slightly bared her teeth at the man who was now grinning down at her, and pulled herself away from his warm touch.

He let her put a few centimetres between them before he swiftly reached out again, catching her face in his firm grip with a chuckle. His fingers dug into her cheek while his thumb pressed into the other, forcing her mouth to fall open as her chin rested in the spot that connected his index to his thumb.

Izumi's nose twitched then, as it stung from fear and she could barely let out a noise as that gaze pierced into her skin. Her clear doe eyes were slightly inward as she was forced to look at him, and that caused a satisfied, hedonistic emotion to bloom throughout his chest down to his fingertips.

"You don't have to be so _shy_ , Little Bunny, it's not like I'm going to hurt you." He cooed, a sweet sound, but the tongue that poked out from his mouth was dangerously salacious as he wet his lips, and Izumi trembled underneath his gaze that left her frozen.

"Though, I'm tempted to have _a little_ fun," he drawled, "I need you to cooperate with me. Can you do that?"

The dulcet, coaxing tone he used was as indolent as it was attractive, and the way this unknown man whispered to her left Izumi feeling dizzy. She couldn't help but nod in obedience.

He smiled once more, gentler than before as he uncharacteristically brushed his nose against hers, eyes, again half lidded, looking at her as if she were to be his next meal.

"Good girl. Now give me names." His fingers trailed under her chin next once he released her face from his tight grip, and brushed his thumb along her bottom lip, patiently waiting for an answer.

The soothing motion of his thumb caused Izumi to stumble over her words, the digit occasionally preventing her from speaking as her teeth would bite down on it by accident. Her cheeks were lit aflame at this point, much to the man's amusement, but she still tried to bravely look him in the eyes as she answered, the tip of her tongue just barely brushing over his skin.

He tasted like ash.

"Guo Dian and Li Xiahouji." She whispered under her breath, gently biting her tongue as his thumb stopped moving.

The man blinked down at her, his face still inches away from hers as he registered the names into his head. Suddenly, something akin to recognition flashed in his eyes before it went away and he hummed to divert Izumi's attention.

"Itaru Chigasaki." He whispered right back, teasing her. Her confused expression made him grin, and slowly, he tipped his chin up to press a feather light kiss to the tip of the girl's nose; startling her even more. "That's my name, Little Bunny."

And with that, he released Izumi once more to lean back in his chair, smiling all the while. His smug expression slightly irked her, but she was suddenly caught off guard by the relaxed, unbothered action of Itaru dragging the tip of his tongue over the small spot that she had licked earlier by accident; the corner of his mouth lifting higher into a smirk.

Before she could react, the door to the room swung open, and in walked another blond man with a much neater presentation than Itaru. The two guards by the door who were minding their own business earlier bowed respectively to him, and he waved his hand lazily, continuing to stride towards where Itaru sat in his chair, still smiling with his thumb pressed to his lips.

"Meeting." The sophisticated blond rumbled lowly and tucked a few fingers into the neck of Itaru's t-shirt, threatening to pull at his modern kimono. The latter bit the tip of his tongue while the smile still stuck to his face, and Izumi looked between him and the new face with a frown, again, her stomach feeling unsettled.

"At least greet her before we go, Big Bro." He suggested.

The man's purple eyes slowly trailed from Itaru to Izumi who was still frozen in her bed, and as he pulled Itaru to his feet opened his mouth: "Hello."

Her shoulders raised in brief surprise, but she quickly nodded in greeting, having already forgotten about the thing that happened between her and Itaru earlier. "Hello." She greeted.

With a rough pat to his shoulder and a dark murmur from the man in glasses, Itaru could only send her a slight smile, his body still being jolted forward by the hand of the man in the cashmere coat. "Just wait for us. We'll explain everything else after this meeting." He called out behind his back to which Izumi nodded despite knowing they weren't looking at her anymore.

As the two blonds neared the exit, the new face pushed Itaru into the hallway with a strong shove, causing him to stumble while the stranger turned halfway to look back at Izumi.

His eyes were half-lidded just like Itaru's, but held no trace of emotion.

"Get some rest, Izumi." He murmured, disappearing after Itaru and leaving the woman to wonder about how he knew her name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nice. i may have gone a lil overboard, but it was a nice touch to itaru's personality i think . . . catch me at derireo.tumblr.com !


	3. Flashback III: The Guardian Angels to a Glutton

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coming together to create theories of why this all happened in the first place, Izumi learns a couple things or two about the men that saved her that night.

Izumi was in the middle of eating a snack when Itaru and the stranger came back to her room, causing a slight ruckus as the door was violently swung upon. The door handle slammed into the wall, resulting in a faint cracking noise that startled Itaru and Izumi, and they quickly glanced at the man who was in the middle of readjusting his tie.

Quietly, Itaru slinked around and checked the wall where the door hit, and did his best to keep his face neutral so that the man wouldn't know that there was a huge ass hole in the dry partition.

Izumi was kind of glad she asked the guards to stay outside otherwise one of them would've died on the spot.

The young blond held a finger to his lips when she glanced his way, causing her to hide her smile behind the treat she was eating as the man in the glasses went to sit down in the chair by her bed.

Slowly, her smile faded away when the stranger caught her attention just by _sitting there_ , her hands falling to her lap to show respect while doing her best to swallow the rest of the food that was in her mouth.

The drip of the IV was the only sound in the room, and the way the silence permeated throughout had Izumi clenching her fingers. The man that sat in Itaru's former spot was sitting with his leg crossed over the other, and he was staring at her in thought while he pinched his lower lip between his fingers; as if wondering about what he should do with her.

Helpless, Izumi looked over at Itaru who was also doing the same thing by the wall he broke, his eyes squinting at her.

"Guo Dian and Li Xiahouji, huh?" The stranger pondered under his breath, but peered straight into Izumi's eyes. His irises were a light purple, but with how intense his stare was it looked menacingly dark. The young woman frowned.

Izumi nodded at the mention of the familiar names and felt her heart squeeze painfully tight. She kept her lips sealed to prevent the two men in the room from hearing her strained voice, and instead weakly lifted her arm to motion for the man to continue.

"They've fled to the outskirts of the city; too far for the cops to reach and definitely too far for us." He informed, and mirrored the frown that was on Izumi's face. They had moved so fast that even Itaru was surprised when they first received the news– it looked like they started heading out not too long after the men found her in that alleyway.

The news was disheartening enough to make Izumi slump in her bed despite her injuries screaming at her to be careful. She cringed at the sharp pain that stabbed her in the side, and the ache in her lower back as the man by her bed watched on in silence, going back to his wondering state.

"Do you have any idea _why_ this happened?" Itaru wondered aloud and kicked the door to the room closed, stepping to the side to hide the hole that was still there in the wall. He was also frowning, puzzled by the unusual act of unorganised crime.

Izumi shook her head. "Not any good ones."

Both men sighed in slight exasperation and looked at each other with a shrug, their lips pursed. They didn't know much about Guo Dian and Li Xiahouji despite their notorious monikers and how they moved in clubs, and for some reason whenever they looked deeper to latch onto something, only Izumi's name and information would show up.

Itaru couldn't wrap his head around it. He had no idea how they were able to hide everything about them that was important for their search.

› **Tachibana** , **Izumi**.

› 21, Freelancer.

› Originally residing in Ki Village, now lives in Yunliong City in pursuit of a man named [ _REDACTED_ ].

› Head of a small notorious group called Hanbei.

› Only connections in city are two others, Dian, Guo & Li, Xiahouji.

› **Dian** , **Guo**.

› 23, Part-Time Tutor, Freelancer.

› Permanent resident of Yunliong. Former resident of [ _CONFIDENTIAL_ ] and [ _CONFIDENTIAL_ ].

› Reason for coming to the city: UNKNOWN

› [ _REDACTED_ ]

› Has connections with [ _CONFIDENTIAL_ ], [ _REDACTED_ ].

› **Li** , **Xiahouji**.

› 22, [ _BLANK_ ]

› Permanent resident of Yunliong. Former resident of [ _CONFIDENTIAL_ ] and [ _CONFIDENTIAL_ ]

› [ _REDACTED_ ]

› Reason for coming to the city: UNKNOWN

› Has connections with [ _CONFIDENTIAL_ ] and [ _CONFIDENTIAL_ ].

Deep down, they knew that one of those two had something against her. With all of their presumed locations classified or removed, there was no way they would be able to find that duo so easily. Despite having the power of this city, the government only saw them as a nuisance, and never acknowledged them so they had no chance of getting their help.

Gently biting into his thumb, Itaru glared at the back of the other man's head in thought, his arm curled around his waist while he leaned against the wall to rest.

"Don't you think they were just using her, Sakyo?" The young blond asked, curious. If he took a look back at their files, he'd see the name _Hanbei_ , and the place she used to live. She was also said to be in pursuit of a man whose name is redacted on the document, and her only connections were Guo Dian and Xiahouji, whose files were mainly wiped out or not available to the public.

The man in the glasses, Sakyo, turned his head halfway to send a sidelong glance at Itaru who was still biting at his thumb, eyebrows furrowed as he stared back.

"We _know_ Hanbei. We've seen those three at clubs many times already," Itaru frowned, "and as much as her file wants to say that she was the leader of them – we never saw her do anything other than drink and be left alone by those two."

Offended by the accurate observation from Itaru, Izumi stayed silent and huffily crossed her arms over her chest, doing her best to ignore the searing pain that burnt through her body as she agitated her injuries.

Sakyo's steely eyes flickered back to her as he stood up to press a button that was above her bed, going back to sitting after the light flashed red.

"It doesn't make sense to me why they tried to kill her though." The older man rumbled lowly. His sharp gaze stayed on Izumi as she sighed, and he watched as she looked at him with a soft frown on her face, uncrossing her arms and resting her hands in her lap.

"I don't know how I got mixed up in this," she murmured, picking at her hospital gown, "but maybe they're planning something and I was the diversion?"

"That is _exactly_ what I had in mind." Itaru wagged his finger lazily and pushed himself off the wall to stand beside Sakyo, who was mulling over the idea. Itaru's kimono shook violently as he slapped a hand onto the pondering man's shoulder, earning him an icy glare that he happily ignored. "Her 'death' gave them an excuse to escape because they have no 'leader'. They are definitely planning something." He complained and shook Sakyo's frame.

With a strong grip, the stoic man held onto Itaru's hand with a crease popping up between his eyebrows, nearly throwing the younger man off of him before smoothing his hand down the lapel of his coat. 

"They could have easily left the city without trying to kill her." Sakyo argued, checking his watch to how long it had been since he pressed the assistance button. "It seems either one or both of them didn't want you in the picture at all." He said, finally addressing Izumi.

The young woman scoffed and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. There was no reason to be so rude to Sakyo anyways when she's mostly upset at the fact that her former boyfriend and friend decided to just _off_ her. What the fuck?

"Obviously, considering they were doing this behind my back."

Her sullen expression made Itaru frown in sympathy, and he bumped Sakyo to the side so that he could sit down on the armrest that he wasn't using, arms going back to crossing over his chest.

She really had the short end of the stick and to be fairly honest, Sakyo and Itaru both immediately knew who she was when they found her in the alleyway. They had been keeping their eyes on her two years after she came to the city due to the request of a former member of their gang, but never approached her. They watched as she hung out with her friends at the clubs, and had others trail her during the day to see she made it home okay.

But they never saw this coming; meeting her in that alleyway. The only thing they knew was that they had a bad feeling about the two who were around her, and noticed that there was something off-kilter about that relationship with the other girl.

It was also quite obvious that there was a side thing happening between her and Izumi's boyfriend, but it looked like their girl was a little too dense to even notice.

"Now that we've got that out of the way, how do you feel about moving abroad for a little while after you've recovered?" Itaru asked and clapped his hands together with a sharp smile, head tilted as he watched an expression between confusion and shock took place on Izumi's face. The question was out of the blue and all too sudden; it had Sakyo sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose between his index and thumb.

"I don't.. really have enough money to do that." She murmured sheepishly, cheeks burning. As much as she'd like to go and travel overseas, her humble education and difficulty with finding a stable job prevented her from earning enough. Sure, there was also the variable that she partied a lot with her friends which resulted in _a lot_ of money going down the drain, but she at least had enough to pay rent on time.

Both Sakyo and Itaru eyed each other before turning back to Izumi who was avoiding their gazes, and both men shrugged their shoulders indifferently.

"We'll take care of expenses." Sakyo flicked off an imaginary piece of lint from his pants while Itaru nodded enthusiastically at the offer (statement, really). "All you have to do is stay safe, and we'll pay for everything you need."

It was curious -- having two of these men offer her a way out of the country while not knowing who they were. Her quizzical gaze switched between the two of them as she tried to muster up the courage to ask why they were giving her a chance to leave, and who they were to so easily pay for her travels. She again picked at her gown and looked away, still unsure of whether to accept or decline their offer.

Itaru harrumphed, obviously amused once he picked up the awkward feeling she was giving off.

"You _do_ know the names Itaru Chigasaki and Sakyo Furuichi, right? He teased gently. It was a bit silly to be asking, but when he revealed his name to Izumi a few hours prior, the weight of it didn't seem to sink into her brain, and neither when he called for Sakyo did she pause and think.

"Presumably they're _your_ names." She answered, much to their amusement. Itaru covered a smile behind his hand while Sakyo turned his head to the side to hide the corner of his mouth tilting up, much to Izumi's annoyance. She really wished they would just get to the point with these things, honestly. 

"You're correct," Itaru said, muffled behind his hand as he tried not to giggle, "and do you know what is under those names?"

Izumi nearly threw her hands up in the air out of frustration, but held herself back. The stab wounds on her body were still fresh and she probably reopened them earlier with her childish arm cross, so she bit her lip instead and scrunched her nose in distaste to show Itaru that she wasn't amused.

Sakyo's hand jumped up to hit Itaru square in the back of the head causing a loud _thunk_ to be heard, causing Izumi to choke on a laugh. The young blond almost flew off the chair.

"Ugh, jeez. Fine. You two are no fun." He muttered under his breath with slouched shoulders and tried to soothe the ache that spread through his head.

"We run Heaven on Earth, Silly. These clubs and pleasure districts you're always going to? They're ours." He chuckled and obnoxiously held his arms out in a show-off gesture, causing Sakyo to roll his eyes as Izumi paused in her tiny giggle fest, her eyebrows furrowing together in shock as she looked between the two men that sat in front of her.

"Uh? I don't think I should be receiving help from you guys then--" She started, but was quickly cut off by Itaru who shushed her by holding a finger to his lips and shaking his head, his eyes closing. The corners of his mouth were twitching up into a smile as he willed his heart to stay calm. He didn't really want to mention _that_ person, but it may be the only thing that convinces her to agree.

"Someone who used to be close to us requested a long while back that we look after you, and that's what we're doing. Wouldn't it be terrible of us if we broke that promise when all this has happened already?"

It was obvious with the tone in his voice that he was trying to persuade her into agreeing, but with how he pouted as his yellow tinted circle shades slid down his nose, Izumi found it difficult to resist. It also made her curious as to who would be looking after her. She's been in Yunliong for only three years, and she barely made any new friends; let alone acquaintances.

Izumi sighed, slumping back into her bed with a resigned nod. "Alright."

"Great! You'll leave once you're fully recovered, so make sure you take care of yourself!" He badgered. "I want to teach you a few self-defence things before you go though, so leave your schedule open for me." He batted his eyelashes prettily.

Sakyo and Izumi cringed at the display of shameless cuteness and looked at each other silently, somehow having a conversation with just their stares while Itaru tilted his head dumbly, his smile still etched onto his face. After a few seconds of staring, Izumi quietly burst into laughter as the older man's lips twitched, and he made a move to stand up from his seat just as a nurse had carefully slipped into the room with a new roll of gauze and alcohol.

"You'll also learn how to hold a gun, so rest well." He murmured gently, reaching over the hospital bed's barrier to pet Izumi's messy hair. "I don't know how dangerous your friends are and how far their reach is. I'm not willing to risk anything." He continued and absently brushed his fingers down her face to pinch her squishy cheek between his fingers, causing the girl to grumble at the sudden affection between them.

"We'll come back to visit again when we're not busy!" Itaru said enthusiastically and stood up from his spot on the arm rest, not minding when Sakyo bumped into him as he turned away. His shades dimly glared in the light as he bent down to print a cheeky kiss to her temple, but Sakyo swiftly grabbed him by the collar to tug him away from her, giving the nurse space to help the young girl up from her resting position.

Izumi sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth as sparks of pain flew throughout her body, but still managed to wave at the two men as they headed towards the door, receiving help from the nurse to lift up her gown to tend to the wounds that she had reopened.

"See you." She spoke softly, which earned her a wave from Itaru and a nod from Sakyo as they closed the door behind them.

And thank _goodness_ Sakyo didn't notice the hole in the wall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the last of the flashbacks! present day will start next chapter! catch me at derireo.tumblr.com for some fun times!


	4. Present Day: And The Sun Shines Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izumi returns to Yunliong much earlier than expected and is met with an excitable Itaru and a soft Sakyo.
> 
> As the clock ticks, the conversation gets serious; and it seems Izumi is in need of some protection.

"I'm back!" A young woman with long, flowing brown hair shouted upon her arrival in Itaru's 'office', dropping her bags on the floor with glee as the men who escorted her closed the door and left only three people in the room.

Her smile was broad with excitement as the familiar feeling of being back home sent a wave of comfort to settle in her stomach. Things were the same as ever, with a messy desk that had a broken plaque of Itaru's name and a coffee table to the side with a clutter of Sakyo's papers.

She even noticed that they kept her little corner clean while she was away, her large beanbag chair sitting snug in the corner with her bookshelf all neat and tidy.

By the time she was finished glancing around the room to observe her surroundings, Itaru had dropped his own file of papers to the floor out of shock. His face turned a pale white as he couldn't believe who was standing inside the room and his heart beat wildly against his chest when he saw her eyes smile in his direction.

She was even wearing the clothes he sent her a few months ago, causing his fingers to twitch at how well it fit.

Even Sakyo, who was only mildly surprised at the sudden arrival was impressed.

Her white chiffon blouse was tucked into pleated pants in the colour of pale coral and her feet were cutely pointing inwards as she donned her usual boots, making her seem younger than she was already.

Too shocked to even stand, Itaru collapsed into his chair with a slacked jaw. Sure, three years apart is a long time, but Izumi showing up without warning was definitely something that was strong enough to destroy him.

Just the sight of his Little Bunny all grown up was nearly enough to have him burst into tears.

Izumi bounced happily when she saw Sakyo stand up from the sofa by the coffee table with an elated sigh and willed herself to calm down as he took light footed steps towards her, arms held wide open.

A quiet grunt was pushed out of the grown man when she immediately took residence in his embrace with a tackle and curled her arms around his neck as he wrapped around her waist, their heads lightly knocking together.

"Welcome home, Sweetheart." Sakyo mumbled affectionately, lips brushing against the shell of her ear. The brief contact tickled her and she laughed joyously when she pulled away to take a quick look at the man who should be turning thirty soon.

His hair was slicked back today, with a few loose strands falling in front of his face. He wore a black dress shirt that had a cravat; showing off the clean skin of his throat and collarbones. He wasn't wearing his glasses either, which was a nice surprise to come home to.

The contacts made his look of the day seem.. awfully dashing.

She mentally shook herself of the thought that popped in her head and smiled warmly towards the man who was staring at her with a faint glint of adoration reflecting in his eyes. She didn't remember ever seeing Sakyo with such a gentle expression and her heart stuttered in her chest when she was held hostage by the intense gaze he still had on her.

Thankfully, Itaru chose this moment to slam his palms onto his desk and startle both of them out of their little trance, causing them to snap their heads towards a wide-eyed and pouty man.

"Bunny!" He barked childishly, lifting his hand from the desk to beckon Izumi with a single finger. "Come here. Now."

His authoritative tone made Sakyo and Izumi take a quick glance at each other, but the older man only shrugged with a resigned sigh and gave Izumi a push forward before moving back to his seat on the sofa.

She bit the tip of her tongue anxiously as she smiled at the suddenly stoic Itaru who had his arms crossed over his chest and was leaning back in his chair. Seeing such a serious face coming from Itaru made her sulk, and her footsteps were heavy when she shuffled towards him with sad puppy eyes.

He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth due to the pitiful display and lifted his finger again to tell her 'closer'.

"Aru– Whoa!" She whined at the mean face, but was immediately cut off by a pair of arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her into the space between Itaru's legs. The sudden jerk of movement nearly had her toppling over, and she had to grip onto the back of his chair as her knee knocked into his thigh. Her small frame looming over the messy haired blond made him smile in satisfaction.

"Hi." He said simply, craning his neck to look up at Izumi. Her cheeks were dusted a pretty pink due to the compromising position and they were a little too close for comfort as Itaru's nose was nearing her chest, and her back was arched due to the strong grip he had on her waist.

Her flustered expression quickly switched into something akin to annoyance when he didn't let go and she reached down to pinch a cheek of his between her fingers, eliciting a boring reaction of Itaru only smiling while one of his eyes closed. Her small punishment wasn't enough to deter him and he hoisted Izumi even further into the chair with him until she was basically seated in his lap.

"Itaru!" She scolded him, even more agitated and embarrassed as she pushed her hands into his shoulders to put some space between them, turning her head to send Sakyo a look that told him she needed help.

The unflinching emotion on his face let Izumi know that he wasn't going to do anything to get her out of her predicament and she groaned in annoyance once Itaru had his face buried into the crook of her neck, blowing playful little raspberries onto her skin.

The childish behaviour was endearing for only a brief second and with a sweet voice, Izumi tried to coax Itaru into letting her go.

"Alright, Kitty-Kitty, time to let g– _ow_!" Her voice raised an octave right when Itaru sunk his teeth into her neck after one last raspberry, and she forced the man away from her by roughly pushing him by the shoulders, her hand flying up to cover the part he bit. "What the hell, Itaru!"

Her voice was slightly panicked as a blush rose to her cheeks and her pretty eyes widened causing Itaru to only smile dreamily and lick his lips.

"Sakyo!" Izumi complained loudly to avoid getting teased by Itaru for getting flustered, "He bit me!"

Not even looking up from his paperwork, the older man responded: "It's his way of saying he missed you."

Izumi's face twisted into something akin to disgust upon hearing the answer she did not want to hear and snapped her head back in Itaru's direction to glare at the dopey looking man, grabbing a fistful of his shirt as a threat while he only pulled her in closer.

"I'm gonna break your teeth, Its." She hissed quietly, not at all minding how she was straddling his lap anymore as Itaru responded by licking his teeth with a grin.

"Sakyo's already done that before. Come up with something else."

She threw her hands up in the air clearly annoyed with the blond. "You are impossible as always. Let go of me." She swatted at his arms, trying to make a move to get her feet back on the floor.

Itaru tutted, readjusting his grip on her so that she wouldn't slip away so easily. "Where's my ' _please_ '?" He chided, forcing Izumi to pause in her movements with a pout.

"Please?" She clasped her hands together in a pleading motion and batted her eyelashes at the young man with a tilted head, trying to send him a nice smile to make it harder to say no.

Itaru paused. "No."

"I hate it here." Izumi hissed at a cheekily grinning Itaru and used sheer force to break away from the man's grip, an annoyed growl escaping her once he let go. She lifted up her hands to brush away the creases that formed in her clothing while standing back up on her feet to move to her beanbag chair in the corner and to get away from the clingy puppy.

Despite obviously being rejected by their favourite girl, Itaru was quick to ignore the files he dropped on the floor and instead propped his elbows up on his desk to rest his chin in his hands. His eyes were filled with love as he stared at Izumi from across the room and the woman shifted uncomfortably under the probing stare, her fingers fiddling with the soft fabric of her seat.

While slumping in her chair, Izumi's eyes slowly trailed towards Sakyo who was still looking over a few documents on his table, pinching his chin in thought. She sighed tiredly and sunk deeper into the beanbag.

"Did anything interesting happen while I was gone?" She inquired, getting bored of just sitting there as the two men worked.

Well. Sakyo was working.

The normally bespectacled blond glanced up from the documents laid out in front of him and dropped his pen haphazardly, falling back into the sofa elegantly as he crossed a leg over the other. His shoulders sagged with exhaustion as he actually nodded his head, much to Izumi's surprise.

When the girl was away, abroad, doing whatever she chose to, it was quite peaceful in Yunliong, but just a few days before today, they had finally seen some movement coming from Guo Dian's base at the edge of the city. Slowly but surely, some of his men were filing in. Sakyo and Itaru didn't have time to consider if this was because they knew Izumi was coming back earlier than expected, or if it was just a coincidence.

"A few days ago Guo Dian's men were seen slipping into the city," Sakyo sighed, lifting a hand to run through his already mussed up hair, "and I am now wondering if it has something to do with you."

At the mention of her ex boyfriend, Izumi's body straightened, her eyes wide.

"But I'm supposed to be _dead_." She whispered sharply, the look on her face telling the man that she thought his theory was ridiculous. Izumi disappeared for three years and never should have been able to be tracked down at any point. It had to be a coincidence, but it was just too much of one. Plus, it seemed odd to make the first move only after such a specific time period.

Sakyo sighed again, while Itaru was too busy fiddling around with his fancy pen to concentrate on the conversation at hand.

"It has to be a coincidence, Kyo. There's no answer clearer than that."

"Yes, well, even if we do have the answer, it doesn't help that there's a good chance Guo Dian will find out you're alive, and _soon_." He said, pinching the bridge of his nose to calm the bubbling emotions rising in him.

Itaru whistled softly, tapping away at his phone. It was like the words being thrown around were entering one ear and exiting out the other for him, but as he was finishing up whatever he was doing he smiled happily, setting down the device.

"Well, if we can't stop it from happening, we can just have someone help us avoid it for as long as possible, right?" The suggestion the lazy blond made was simple. It also wasn't the worst idea he had come up with and it actually had Izumi nodding along, much to Itaru's delight.

Obviously, Sakyo seemed to be reluctant to agree but it also seemed like he knew just who Itaru was talking about. And before he could open his mouth to express his doubt, a tall man entered the room without knocking, hand in his pocket as he kicked the door closed behind him.

The words in Sakyo's throat died down when he saw the slouching figure and could only release a gentle sigh of resignation.

It looked like the only thing Sakyo could do was sigh.

"What's with the text, Nerd?" The man's voice was gruff as he stared in boredom at Itaru who was in the middle of fixing his shades, free hand flipping his phone up in the air and catching it over and over again.

Izumi and Sakyo both looked at each other with blank expressions due to the unheard of nickname, but the girl was quick to get over her brief amusement to properly look at the new person that had just come in.

He wore a plain white hoodie underneath a large black denim jacket with a pair of black tapered trousers to match, a loose chain hanging from his belt loops. What he wore on his feet left Izumi a bit suspicious when she saw splotches and streaks of maroon on his white Polo sneakers, even managing to dirty up the white athletic crew socks he wore beneath.

He also wore a black beanie, probably to hide a nest of messy hair and when the man briefly turned his head to take a glance at the ogling Izumi, she noticed the long scar that ran down the side of his chin and how his brown eyes looked at her as if she was just a pile of rocks.

"Ohms! Came by faster than I expected." Itaru happily clapped his hands then motioned for the man to come closer to his desk, to which he took one step forward and that was it. The excitable blond smiled and quickly motioned towards the brunette while looking at Sakyo.

"Don't you think Omi's good for the job? Definitely strong enough to care for our Little Bunny."

The man, Omi, turned his head again to take another look at Izumi who was still slumped in her beanbag chair then jabbed a thumb in her direction with an unappreciative tone in his voice. "You're tellin' me I came all th'way up here just to be told I gotta care for this tiny thing?"

"Uh. Yeah." Itaru scoffed and rolled his eyes at the casually dressed young man who was now glaring daggers at him. "You've seen her before, Ohms. Carried her to the hospital room all those years ago, remember?"

And clearly, it seemed to Izumi, that Omi did not remember. Hell, even she had no clue how she made it to the hospital so she couldn't really blame him. Plus, she wasn't connected to him and he obviously had no interest in protecting her, so it felt that there wasn't much of an option here.

"Huh. Girl was super fuckin' weak, though." He chuckled, nonchalant. He crossed his arms over his chest with a barely amused smile and turned around to face Izumi who had an apparent frown on her face. "Hope it ain't the same now."

The challenge hung in the air clear as day, and as much as Sakyo wanted to call out and tell Izumi not to fall for the bait, the girl was already standing up from her beanbag chair, loading up her stance as she held her fists up in front of her face in a defensive position. Her eyes had quickly turned from starry to steely as her eyebrows creased together, and right after she found her balance lifted her leg up to shoot her foot out into a heavy push kick.

She meant to aim for Omi's chin with the heel of her boot, but her ankle was quickly caught by the man's large hand before she could even reach him, letting out a startled gasp when he yanked her forward in a haphazard motion until the bottom of her boot was pressed against his sternum, his other hand snapping out to grab her by the arm of her blouse to keep her from falling over.

"I ain't too tall for you, am I?" He grinned mockingly, eyes smiling down at her as he pressed her boot further against his chest, fingers tight around her ankle as Izumi struggled to stay balanced. The panic on the woman's face was enough for Omi to feel a satisfied warmth drip down to his fingertips and his rough skin pulled at her shirt to keep her up. "Maybe try reaching for a spot you can reach next time, hm?"

And with that, Omi's smile vanished into thin air and the shine to his eyes died. He let go of Izumi's ankle, nearly throwing the girl into a spin if he hadn't been gripping onto her shirt with a fierce hold. Another smile made its way onto his face, but it was much more patronising, his hand lazily pulling Izumi forward with ease as she stumbled into his dirty chest.

He made sure she was looking at him and grabbed her face with a single hand, much like how Itaru did all those years ago when he first met her. Her neck craned as Omi forced her to tilt her head up with his brass rings digging into her cheeks, his voice a low rumble as he brought their faces closer until he was sure he could feel her stuttering breath against his lips.

"Tiny thing like you's gonna get crushed." He warned her quietly, their noses just barely touching. "I'll break ya in a second if I have to."

"Alright, that's enough. Let go of her, Omi." Sakyo murmured ominously once he saw Izumi's hands wrap around the arm of her new acquaintance. A low huff, full of mirth, escaped Omi's mouth when he slapped away the hands that tried to grab onto him and released the girl's face from his firm grip. Izumi stumbled a few steps away while she caught her shaking breath and planted her palms onto the edge of Itaru's desk with wide eyes staring at the smiling blond, her lips silently forming the word ' _what the fuck?_ '.

" _Dumbass_ over here probably texted you something about having a new task." Sakyo sighed again. How many times has he sighed today? Lightly brushing at an itch that appeared beneath his eye, the older man smiled ruefully and closed his eyelids to rest them, wondering why the hell Itaru decided to pick _Omi_ over anyone else to look after her. The man wasn't really the nicest of the bunch and he didn't open up to people very well either.

The young man nodded his head as if it was gonna drop from his neck soon, eyes showing he had no particular interest in what the task was as he watched the back of Izumi's heaving shoulders, the corner of his mouth lifting up just the slightest when she made a certain hand gesture at Itaru. He politely motioned towards Izumi who was still whispering angrily at the other man while turning his head to look at Sakyo, lips pursed. "'N' that's my task, ain't it?"

"Precisely. Right now, I want you to escort her to her old apartment. There's a secret compartment located in her room, but she never told us how to open it before she left." He said calmly, rubbing one of his temples with the pads of his fingers as the bickering between Itaru and Izumi gradually grew louder.

"Ehh.." Omi frowned at the new task and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning his weight on one foot as he got tired of standing. "Can't you two bring her yourselves? And why wait so long to open it?"

"We're busy with paperwork and running a city," Itaru groaned over the hissing of Izumi, swatting away at the girl who had suddenly gotten hold of the collar of his shirt, "you know. _The bad guy_ stuff."

There was a look of disgust that quickly flashed across Omi's face when he was faced with the job to take care of this little girl, and he mentally punched Itaru in the face for making him do such a thing. He let his head drop back to release an annoyed grumble before snapping back to his proper form, taking lazy strides towards Izumi who had finally let go of her whining victim.

"Wha-- Hey!" The girl exclaimed in shock when Omi spun her around by the waist and easily lifted her onto his shoulder in a fireman's carry. The action was done so effortlessly that Izumi didn't have any time to react and when she could, Omi was already heading out of the office with her smallest, emptiest bag in hand, the fear of being purposely dropped by him weighing heavy in her stomach.

"See ya." Omi said behind his shoulder as Izumi went limp under his grip; not finding it worth the trouble to fight a man who could easily overpower her and break her neck. As much as she trained with Sakyo, Itaru, and a few others, the size difference between her and Omi threw all of that hard work down the drain. She huffed out an indignant sigh as she let the taller man carry her down the steps of the building, but winced when each step made his shoulder dig into her stomach.

"You can be a little nicer, you know. I don't bite." She griped unhappily to which Omi scoffed as he took the last step and brought them into the lobby, dropping Izumi onto her feet while readjusting his grip on her bag.

"But _I do_ , so don't push yer luck with me, Pup." He said, roughly nudging her by the shoulder to turn the girl around so that she would start walking towards the exit of the building with him in tow, his large frame towering over her smaller one as he followed her out and went down whatever street she was going to take them.

His steps were much slower as she tried to stay in front of him with her own quick shuffling, but inevitably she got tired, and gently asked the man if they could walk even slower.

"Should've stayed close t'me anyways. Someone else can getcha if ya wander too far, and I ain't gonna save you."

"Mhm." At this point, with how set Omi was on keeping some sort of emotional detachment from her, Izumi just started to block out whatever nonsense he was trying to tell her to try and keep her away. Definitely, he seemed like an abrasive guy with how their first meeting went, but if they were going to have to deal with each other from now on, they were going to have to work on this strange relationship.

Using that reason as an excuse for her next action, Izumi casually sidled up to Omi, still looking ahead even when he stared down at her, perplexed. 

"This is me staying close." She said as she took the man's arm and lifted it up, lazily latching herself onto his side while curling the limb around her shoulders until she was nicely tucked against him. The sudden decline of space between them caused Omi to take a sharp intake of breath, but he quickly covered it with another scoff, pretending not to be agitated at how her small hand managed to wrap around his middle finger to hold onto him.

"Whatever." He muttered under his breath, trying to keep his annoyance to a bare minimum.

Today was probably gonna be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> didn't expect Him to make an appearance, huh? catch me at derireo.tumblr.com for some fun!


	5. The Two Fools

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Omi and Izumi explore her abandoned apartment.
> 
> He decides to destroy a few things along the way. Just for kicks.

"So they decided to shut it down because..?"

Izumi was staring up at the place that she used to call her apartment, but it was obvious that no one lived here anymore. The front lawn where a large sign used to sit was now overrun with weeds while the walls of the building looked like they were being swallowed up by invasive creeper plants. Omi's arm was still comfortably wrapped around her shoulders as they stayed put on the sidewalk, her head resting against his shoulder as she analysed the graffiti that ran along the walls.

The sound of Omi's tongue clicking was the only response Izumi was going to get given how silent the man was the rest of their way here. The lack of cooperation made her sigh in resignation and she decided not to ask anymore questions unless they were actually important. For the time being at least.

She just had to guess that Sakyo and Itaru didn't want this building anymore because she didn't live there anymore. Her conjecture probably wasn't that far off anyways.

Flinging Omi's arm from her shoulders, Izumi readjusted her outfit as she made her way inside the abandoned building, the toes of her boots kicking away the stray pebbles that rest on the ground.

The man who accompanied her pursed his lips at the sudden loss of warmth, but silently crinkled his nose as he reminded himself that she had just very _rudely_ pushed him away. Slinging her bag over his shoulder, Omi's tongue poked the inside of his cheek as he followed right behind the wandering woman, his temper still pleasantly mellow.

"Ugh, stairs." Izumi moaned sadly when pressing the button to the elevator didn't work, hitting her head against the metal doors.

It wasn't too far, but she lived on the third floor.

Omi, irked by how fast she had given up already, offered his services.

"I can give you a ride," he started, "but it's gonna cost ya."

And as much as the offer was tempting, Izumi grimaced at the word ' _cost_ ' and shook her head with a barely friendly chuckle, her eyes totally not glaring up at Omi as they smiled at him. His own gaze was indifferent at the expression on her face, but the corner of his mouth curved upwards when he saw how annoyed she seemed to be.

"No thanks, _Sweetheart_. I"ll manage." Mocking him with the nickname Sakyo usually called her, Izumi briefly poked her tongue out at Omi. Her little feet immediately carried her in the direction of the stairs before the tall man could react and grab her or something, and she tried to keep her giggles quiet when the sound of his footsteps followed after her own.

Their shadows danced along the length of the walls as the old wood beneath their feet creaked under the weight of their bodies. The sound of wandering mice and other critters tapping along the floors and ceiling covered up the tired breaths of Izumi as Omi casually trailed behind her, eyes fixated on the strain of her calves.

But as strong as she was, her endurance fucking _sucked_.

"I'll carry you. Free o' charge."

"Oh thank _fuck_." Izumi sobbed at the new offer, her body twisting around once they finished the first flight of stairs. At this point, her knees felt weak and she was about to die from exhaustion so Omi saying he'd carry her was like a dream come true; she honestly didn't think her short legs were gonna make it.

With arms held wide open, Izumi waited to be lifted onto his shoulder again, only to be startled by the feeling of already familiar hands gripping onto her waist and hoisting her up into the air.

Her reflexes were barely fast enough when latching onto the man, her legs tightly curled around his waist while her arms looped around his neck as Omi made no other effort to hold onto her himself, his hands reaching out to grab the handrails so that they wouldn't fall down the stairs.

"I can _definitely_ tell that you wouldn't care if I died." Izumi sighed, wistful almost. As much as she found herself physically attracted to this man she was touching, his personality was nearing the line of a total deal breaker.

Omi found it easy to agree with her statement as he focused on getting the both of them to the floor that Izumi used to live on, the pace of his breathing barely changing.

The silence he left Izumi in annoyed her to no end; having been so used to Itaru's ramblings and Sakyo's never ending sighing or growling. She also didn't want to admit that she enjoyed being spoiled with attention, but with Omi's indifference, and maybe even _dislike_ , towards her, she was definitely weighing the pros and cons on throwing a little tantrum.

But no. She shook her head, much to Omi's agitation. She had to keep her cool. Losing her temper with Omi like this was obviously going to put her in a tight situation, and she wasn't willing to die by this fucker's hands.

"Frowning isn't a cute look on you." She said offhandedly, already getting bored having to stay quiet with her emotions while her chin hooked over his shoulder, the side of her head leaning against his just to make him a little more annoyed.

At this point, Omi wasn't planning on opening his mouth to shoot her with a retort. Izumi would probably hit him back with something even meaner to say, and then they would have to do a back and forth to see whose feelings would get hurt first.

And nobody really had time for that; plus, Omi just wanted this girl _off_.

"Here. Get down." The man heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the large number '3' on the wall at the top of the stairs and went to pry off the clingy monster from his body.

Izumi tutted when her feet met the floor, but didn't say anything else to Omi who was trying to brush off any dust or dirt she brought upon him (rude!) and opened the broken fire exit door that would lead them to the hallway where her home was. The circuit breaker was undoubtedly shut off from all those years ago so the only source of light was the sun rays coming in from the end of the hallway.

The silence that resided in the place that Izumi once called her home made it slightly eerie, but she willed herself not to be perturbed and started to venture down to find the door to her apartment room.

"Ugh.. It's so cold. I kinda wish they left the electricity on." Rubbing her hands against her arms, Izumi stopped in front of a door that had one of the numbers hanging off. Her lips pouted when she saw the broken door frame and the cracked door itself; probably in this condition due to her never giving Sakyo and Itaru the key before she left.

She nudged the door open with her foot and held onto her arms as she walked in to the near empty home, just a few things like her ratty old couch and a few wooden chairs left askew in the living room. And she didn't notice then, but it seemed like the table in Itaru's 'office' was actually _her_ coffee table.

Reduce, reuse, recycle, huh?

"Should blame yourself for wearin' that outfit you got goin' on." Omi said as he ventured to her kitchen where a leaky faucet remained along with a few broken dishes left abandoned in the sink. If anything, Omi would have offered his jacket to her if she asked, but she didn't. So. That's kind of on her.

"I'll kill you." Her voice travelled from an area of the place that was probably her bedroom, and the empty threat left Omi chuckling to himself as he brushed his hand along a cracked cupboard, fingers catching onto the handle that would let him open the tiny cabinet. The man grimaced when the collected dust flew in front of his face and he waved it away with his free hand as he examined whatever was inside.

The cupboard mostly housed a unique array of shot glasses, showing how much of an alcoholic the girl was in the past, along with a small arrangement of porcelain plates and one single kiddie bowl.

A small wave of repulsion went through Omi when he took a closer look at a mug that caught his attention though, a curious hand reaching out to properly examine what was on the ceramic.

It was a personalised mug that seemed to have a not so hot picture of Izumi with her former boyfriend on it, their arms wrapped around each other.

With one of the worst choices of font, Papyrus, was a sentence that ran around the image.

> _I hope only love and happiness meets us hand-in-hand in the future.. Guo Dian._

> _Happy Graduation, Izumi._

This? In Papyrus? Out of all fonts? Omi didn't major in anything let alone graphic design, but just looking at this abomination told him that this bullshit was hideous as fuck. He was going to have to do something about this.

"Yo, Izumi-san." He called out.

"En..?" Poking her head from a doorway, the girl's eyes squinted at Omi who had the mug casually hanging from a long finger, eyebrows scrunched him as she tried to see what it was he was trying to tell her through his vague gestures. She only realised what he was holding in his hand when she remembered that there was only one or two mugs she owned as a new adult, and the only one that had a picture on it was the present that Guo Dian gave her on her convocation day.

"You ever tell 'im this the ugliest shit ya seen?"

"Uh.. I thought it was kinda cute at the time.." She trailed off, slightly embarrassed. Sure, it wasn't the prettiest thing to look at, but it's the thought that counts, right? Izumi treasured it for many years after receiving it, but she totally forgot about it once she left to go overseas. She didn't use it much anyways, considering how worn down and scratched all of her shot glasses were while the mug looked like it had been barely touched.

"Right, well," with an easy but powerful flick of his wrist, Omi lobbed the ceramic mug across the short length of the living room, leaving it to fly far enough to hit and smash the rest of an already broken window that lead to the outside of the building, "you thought wrong."

Wincing at the sound of the crash of the window and then the smash of the mug landing on concrete, Izumi quickly frowned at Omi before disappearing to her bedroom again to go back to doing what she was doing before he interrupted her. Whatever. She didn't like that mug anyways.

The lack of reaction was kind of disappointing to Omi, but he decided not to push her any further just in case the kitty actually had claws, using the leaking faucet to wash away any of the dust that managed to stick to his fingers as his nose wrinkled at the memory of initially witnessing the tragedy that was Izumi's only graduation present.

If it were him, he would have dumped his partner right then and there.

"Ugh.. Omi-san?" It was Izumi's turn to call out for him, not that it mattered to the man but he perked up at the helpless tone in her voice, already making the short trek to her bedroom before she could tell him what she needed help with.

She was surprised to see Omi standing in the doorway when she was going to walk out and drag him from the kitchen, but smiled gratefully when he was in her sights, hands shoved into his pockets.

"You good?" Eyeing the piece of plywood that Izumi was holding onto, Omi pursed his lips and took a single step forward to see how she was managing. The plywood looked a bit new, and considering that Sakyo and Itaru had been here once before told him that they were the ones who installed it.

They said they were having trouble opening something a while back, so it must have been something valuable hence the plywood screwed shut over the huge ass hole they made in the wall.

"Obviously not." Izumi grunted, fingers sore from pulling at the barrier for so long. "There was literally no reason for this."

Awkwardly bouncing on the balls of his feet, Omi continued to watch the girl struggle. Was she going to ask him to lend a hand or..?

"Please help me." She whined, removing her hands from the small crevice that helped her pull at the industrial wood. She brought her fingers up to her mouth and cutely placed soothing kisses to the parts that would undoubtedly bruise later, causing Omi's mouth to twist in disgust at the adorable display.

"Hm. Thought you were never gonna ask, _Sweetheart_." He smiled sarcastically to which Izumi reacted the same, both of them glaring at each other as Omi shrugged off his black denim jacket and tossed it to Izumi who hardly reacted fast enough to catch it. No one else would have put it past Omi to ignore the girl until she asked for assistance since he liked watching others struggle, but there was something about Izumi that made it all the more fun.

He had just met her today, and not that he'd admit it, but he was kind of enjoying himself right now.

"Hold it or wear it, don't care. An' quit lookin' at me like that." Omi sighed as Izumi crinkled her nose, the weight of his jacket making it difficult for her to hold in both hands. A slight grumble came from the girl once the man had turned away from her to pull a tactical switchblade from his back pocket, the matte carbon fibre attracting her attention. 

Her eyebrows lifted, impressed by the slick blade, and took a step back to let Omi do whatever he was planning to do, arms casually slipping through the sleeves of his large jacket to keep herself warm. "You gonna somehow cut through the plywood with that?" She inquired while sitting down on her old bed, the sound of the creaking springs causing her to grimace and readjust her position on the hard mattress.

The half-hearted joke made Omi want to hit his head against the wall, but he didn't, instead bending to his knees to get a better look at the screws that were still managing to hold on. "I ain't _that_ strong." He rolled his eyes to himself, hooking the blade into the divot of the first screw to get it loose and then worked on the next one in the other corner to get the top half disconnected from the wall. He worked quickly so that he wouldn't waste any more of their time, and without touching the other screws at the bottom dug his hand between the plywood and the wall to manually force it off. 

The sound of wood splitting caused Izumi to stop zoning out, her body jolting at the sudden break.

"Yeah.." She grimaced again, seeing how the poor wood lay at his feet. "Not that strong.. I agree.."

Izumi sighed once she saw the huge hole that hid away the safe she only opened once, the dents in the metal clear as day to both her and Omi. Sakyo and Itaru could have done a better job at trying to open the safe, right? It was just a simple 4-digit code, but it looked like they couldn't even figure it out. There were a few scratches on some of the numbers that told Izumi that they focused on _those_ , but they missed the mark.

They didn't get a single number right.

"The code was 3825.." Izumi mourned as she quickly went to kneel in front of the safe to drag her fingers along the dimples in the metal, not yet touching the keypad. Omi's eyebrows creased as he watched how her small hands poked out from the long sleeves of his jacket and crossed his arms over his chest, not really knowing why she would assume anyone would figure that out by themselves with no sort of clue from the owner.

"3825 for ' _fuck_ ' when you look at the letters.." She explained not a second later, and it was at this point that Omi would have honestly preferred if she didn't say anything at all.

The urge to rip his jacket off her body out of anger was strong, but she unlocked the safe before he could make a move. Omi was left having to pretend he was only outstretching his hand to anxiously bite at his nails while Izumi gathered whatever was in the safe, the sigh that left her connecting to how Omi was feeling at this very moment.

"Didn't like 7448?" He muttered to himself when Izumi shuffled away from the safe to close it, the woman standing to her proper height as she turned her head to look at him with an innocent expression, eyes oddly sad for some reason.

"' _Shit_ ' wasn't as funny as ' _fuck_ ' at the time." She murmured gloomily, thumb brushing over the items that lay in her hand while Omi took a step to take a better look. His face contorted once more into an expression of disgust when he saw another photo of Izumi and Guo Dian together, along with a pair of amber kanzashi hair combs and a simple, black titanium ring.

"Top tier humour." He said, snatching away the photo that rest in her palm. The protest against him went ignored as Omi rummaged around in his pocket for something, his tongue poking out just the slightest bit as he dug deep to conjure a single match kept safe in a small plastic baggie from his trousers. "We're burnin' this shit."

"No! I look cute in that photo!" Izumi shot a hand out to try and reach for the picture that Omi took from her, but the man only held it above his head with a petulant frown, nose scrunched that she would even bother to try and save this forsaken piece of chemically sensitised paper.

The agitation was clear on Omi's face when Izumi's hand made contact with his chest as she tried to get closer to the photo, straining herself on her toes to _at least_ brush her fingers along the edge of the item while her body leaned into him. Her struggle was genuine as she wheezed out a childish whine, but was quickly silenced when Omi's hand came down to roughly pat her cheek, an arm tucking around her waist to bring her back to the flat of her feet.

"I'll cut his half off then we burn it." He offered then pushed away the girl from him to keep their distance, brushing off the imaginary dust that she brought upon him. "Want you to explain why _those_ are important though." He pointed at the traditional hair ornament and the ring being held tight in Izumi's hand. The amber resin glowed bright despite the dim lighting in the bedroom, and the ring glimmered just the slightest when the light from the window hit it as Izumi examined the accessories herself, lips pouted.

"I just told Itaru and Sakyo that these meant a lot to me," she sighed, not noticing Omi brandishing his switchblade again, "they're making it seem like they hold a different meaning though. I don't quite get it."

The smooth sound of his blade slicing through the photo made Izumi fall back into reality and she pressed her lips in a thin line when she noticed how he narrowly missed cutting her whole arm from the rest of the picture. She didn't say anything, but Omi knew how unimpressed she was with him when she put her hands on her hips; looking awfully cute (not his words) with how his denim jacket dwarfed her.

"Any special markings on 'em?" He murmured as he plucked the match he had from its baggie, taking a single step closer to the girl to reach out with the tiny thing. Before Izumi could react, Omi's wrist flicked in her direction to strike the match against his jacket that she still wore, a brief spark flying before the head lit up into a flame.

The action made her flinch in surprise, momentarily forgetting what his question was as her eyes darted back and forth between her sleeve and the match with widened eyes.

"H-How.."

"Cap gun powder, water, nail varnish." He didn't let her finish as he brought the match to Guo Dian's half of the photo, casually letting it burn in one hand as he motioned for Izumi with the other, telling her to hurry up and answer his question. The old scars on her body ached when her gaze didn't move from the flickering match and the melting picture, but willed herself to break away from the bright flame to avert her attention to the simple ring that Guo Dian had given to her as another present.

"Er.. Ah! There's a lotus emblem inside the ring.." She gasped in surprise, noticing the thin engraving that was touched up with gold. She then flipped the kanzashi combs in hands to see another set of lotus emblems in the top left corners, the black paint protected by a smooth coating of some type of varnish.

A deep intake of breath was heard coming from Omi as he finally dropped the ruined photo of Guo Dian along with the match, casually stepping on the flame with his white shoe to extinguish it before it could catch fire onto any of the rubble that was around. Stepping away, his foot revealed the burnt to a crisp sensitised paper and the dead match in the spot where the ex boyfriend's head used to be.

"'Kay. Good to know. We're done 'ere." The man mumbled as he tucked Izumi's half of the photo in his jacket pocket for the girl to hold onto, wrapping his large hand around the crook of Izumi's elbow to begin pulling her out the bedroom without giving her any time to look at anything else. "Let's go."

"Hey!" Izumi complained, unable to use any strength against Omi to make release her. She tried digging her heels into the floor to make the man let up, but Omi wasn't having it and pulled on her arm to make her stumble forward until she crashed into his side. Izumi groaned in agitation as her nose dug itself into his rib cage, but Omi was left unaffected, his arm moving to go back around her shoulders to escort her out of the abandoned apartment room.

"Can we _at least_ go eat some food before we go back?" She put away the kanzashi in the same pocket Omi put her photo in and wore the black ring on her middle finger, squinting up at the man who was leading her down the hallway and towards the stairwell. "I didn't get to before I visited the office."

He shot a quick glance her way only for him to revert his gaze to the flight of stairs they were going to have to go back down, and made a move to grab Izumi firmly by the waist, hoisting her up into the air for a bridal carry, only to hear her complain again.

He was _not_ going to let her slow them down by going into a corner to heave and catch her breath again. She went limp in Omi's arms just to spite him and make things harder, but his simple answer of _'no_ ' made her shoot up to punch him in the shoulder.

"You're the worst."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is part one of chapter 5! i'll hopefully be able to dish out part two soon! find me at derireo.tumblr.com for some fun!


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